If you take a stroll in downtown Corpus Christi, you'll notice several black aluminum containers with blue labels.

Maybe you'll see fewer cigarette butts on the ground, too.

The Downtown Management District installed 16 sidewalk butlers Thursday in areas where cigarette butts are usually found.

Sidewalk butlers, designed to collect cigarette butts, are built to be touch-free and vandal-proof.

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A sidewalk butler was installed on the corner of Taylor and Mesquite Streets in downtown Corpus Christi.(Photo: Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times)

"One of the main goals of the Downtown Management District is to create a cleaner, safer, more beautiful and accessible Downtown," said Jordan Michael, Communication and Events Manager. "Having these sidewalk butlers aids in the effort to keep the area clean so that more are able to enjoy Downtown Corpus Christi."

The sidewalk butlers were paid for through a grant from the Council of Governments and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Michael said. They will be emptied periodically by a clean team that consists of eight men who work every day to keep downtown clean.

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For more than half a century downtown Corpus Christi has been shielded by an intricate flood protection system. The system that includes the seawall has many pieces that provides 360 degree protection. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

The seawall is intended to protect against storm surge from a flooding event or hurricane, said Jeff Edmonds, director of the city's engineering department. "Downtown has experienced numerous hurricanes in the past prior to the seawall that caused extensive damage," he said. "That was part of the reason the seawall project was originally constructed." Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

The seawall is a popular destination for locals and tourists alike. "We recently learned that almost 50 percent of the residents who visited downtown have actually utilized the seawall," said Alyssa Barrera, executive director of the Downtown Management District. While the priority for seawall fund are flood protection and maintenance, there are discussions on how much and if seawall funds should be used for economic development. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Joe McComb, mayor, said the primary objective of the seawall is to make sure downtown is protected from a storm. "We need to make sure that whatever we do is the seawall that's used as a storm barrier and protection is always maintained and there's funds there to maintain it if something happens," he said. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

For more than half a century downtown Corpus Christi has been shielded by an intricate flood protection system. The system that includes a breakwater has many pieces that provides 360 degree protection. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

For more than half a century downtown Corpus Christi has been shielded by an intricate flood protection system. The system that includes the seawall has many pieces that provides 360 degree protection. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Alyssa Barrera Mason, executive director of the Downtown Management District, said the district's primary goal with the seawall fund is asking city leadership to fast-track two projects that have been identified as potential weak links in the seawall protection system. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

For more than half a century downtown Corpus Christi has been shielded by an intricate flood protection system. The system that includes a breakwater has many pieces that provides 360 degree protection. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Visitors relax on Magee Beach last month. The seawall fund has five current seawall and flood protection system projects. One of those projects is a marina breakwater, dredging and beach nourishment project. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Jeff Edmonds, director of the city's engineering department, said that two projects, levee and flood wall repairs, are high priority for the downtown and seawall capital improvements program. "They're both intended to address known vulnerabilities in the flood protection system and to even out the level of protection that the system provides," he said. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Jeff Edmonds, director of the city's engineering department, said that two projects, one of which is the flood wall seen here, are high priority for the downtown and seawall capital improvements program. The other are the levees. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

The parking lot at the Water's Edge park was paved with funds from the seawall fund. Discussions about how much, or if, the fund should be used for economic development have been ongoing among council members. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

The Corpus Christi Watergarden has been inoperable since Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Aransas County in August 2017. The City Council is trying to decide if they want to use seawall funds to repair it. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

For more than half a century downtown Corpus Christi has been shielded by an intricate flood protection system. The system that includes pumping stations and has many more pieces that provides 360 degree protection. The Power Street Pump Station is one of two pump stations in need of repairs that are part of the flood protection system. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

For more than half a century downtown Corpus Christi has been shielded by an intricate flood protection system. There are five current seawall and flood protection system projects. One of those projects includes a marina breakwater, dredging and beach nourishment project. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

For more than half a century downtown Corpus Christi has been shielded by an intricate flood protection system. The system that includes the seawall has many pieces that provides 360 degree protection. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

For more than half a century downtown Corpus Christi has been shielded by an intricate flood protection system. The system that includes the seawall has many pieces that provides 360 degree protection. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Jeff Edmonds, director of the city's engineering department, said that two projects, one of which are the levees seen here, are high priority for the downtown and seawall capital improvements program. The other is the flood wall. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times